Thursday

“I was just a little puppy when I was here,” Boston’s veteran right-handed relief pitcher said Wednesday when asked to recall the four years he spent with Cleveland at the beginning of his 15-year big-league career. “We had so many great players — (Jim) Thome, (Kenny) Lofton, (Sandy) Alomar, (Omar) Vizquel — I was just happy those guys would let me dress in the same room with them. Now, today, I’m excited to come back here and pitch when I’m grown up.”

Tavarez laughs at the notion of his being grown up. His reputation for being a bit, well, unpredictable has stuck in eight different clubhouses.

“I was a little bit crazy, a little wild then,” admitted Tavarez, who still lives in Broadview Heights, Ohio, during the offseason. “I don’t feel like I’ve changed. I’m still the same guy. People say I’m crazy and wild, but I’m nice to people, and I still take the ball and pitch any time they need me to.”

Tavarez can entertain fans by rolling the ball to first base or pretending to tell his infielders where to throw the ball. He has also broken a finger after punching the dugout phone, gotten in several scraps with umpires and opposing batters and been suspended eight games for having a foreign substance on his cap.

Between incidents, he has pitched well enough for teams to keep giving him work. He has finished with a season ERA under 4.00 five times and has made 103 starts and 615 relief appearances.

A career that long required some adjustments along the way.

“In Cleveland, I only had two pitches, fastball and slider,” Tavarez said. “I could throw 94, 96 mph, so I thought that was all I needed. About two years later, all the hitters were sitting on those two pitches, so I had to learn to do something else. I added a split and a changeup. I’ve learned a lot. Of course, now I can only throw 92, 93.”

The Red Sox needed Tavarez to pitch in their starting rotation while Jon Lester worked his way back from his battle with cancer. Lester returned to the mound with a victory Tuesday over Cleveland, while Tavarez was returned to the bullpen after 18 so-so starts (5-8, 5.27 ERA).

Tavarez was 20 when he made his big-league debut. He turned 34 in May.

“I love this game,” Tavarez said. I’m still out there just having fun.”

COMING UP The series concludes tonight at 7:05. Cliff Lee (5-7, 5.95) will start against Kason Gabbard (4-0, 2.97).

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE? Veteran outfielder Trot Nixon was not surprised that Red Sox fans seemed to outnumber Indians fans during the first two games of the series. “I’ve seen it before when we’ve gone on the road while I was with Boston,” Nixon said. “If (Indians fans) think it looks bad, they should do something about it.” First baseman Ryan Garko said he was not surprised. “Everybody loves a winner,” Garko said. “A lot of people are on the Boston bandwagon. It’s probably like that wherever they go. As a player, it doesn’t matter. But, when you’re a fan of a team, it’s a bad situation to be in.” Manager Eric Wedge said, “I hear our fans up there combating them. That’s more important to me.”

THE FULTZ WATCH LHP Aaron Fultz (rib cage) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and said all went well. Fultz will throw either a bullpen session or a simulated game Friday, then go out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment next week.

ALUMNI REPORT Former Indians 3B Travis Fryman stopped in Cleveland on Wednesday during a family vacation. Fryman, who lives in Florida, said he will be on the Indians’ coaching staff for the fall Instructional League in Winter Haven.

ON THE FARM Single-A Lake County outfielder Nick Weglarz saw his streak of reaching base in 37 consecutive games end, but Weglarz still has a .392 on-base percentage and a .267 season average with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs, second on the team. The 19-year-old Canadian was a third-round draft pick in 2005.